Monitoring CMDB data quality using dashboard metrics in CMDB success advisor for Data Foundations
Summarize
Summary of Monitoring CMDB data quality using dashboard metrics in CMDB success advisor for Data Foundations
The CMDB success advisor for Data Foundations dashboard is a powerful tool designed for CMDB administrators to monitor and improve the quality of Configuration Management Database (CMDB) data. It focuses on principal CI classes, enabling targeted identification of data quality issues such as missing attributes, stale records, and duplicates. This dashboard supports ongoing data quality management aligned with Data Foundations best practices.
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Key Features
- Data Visualization: Displays operational Configuration Items (CIs) by principal class and integration sources to understand CMDB population and distribution.
- Data Quality Metrics: Highlights completeness gaps by identifying CIs missing key attributes like name, managed by group, or location.
- Stale and Duplicate CI Detection: Tracks CIs not updated within configurable timeframes and identifies duplicate records that can cause data inconsistencies.
- Interactive Filters: Allows filtering data by principal classes, date range, and stale CI thresholds (7 to 90 days), making analysis flexible and focused.
- Remediation Guidance: When remediation actions are available, a dedicated panel appears to guide administrators in improving data quality.
- Data Scope: Charts display up to the top 10 values; additional values are grouped as “Others” for clarity.
Practical Use and Benefits
- Monitor CI Completeness: Quickly identify principal CI classes with missing critical data to maintain CMDB integrity.
- Address Data Quality Issues: Detect stale and duplicate CIs to prevent inaccurate impact analysis on incidents, changes, and problems.
- Evaluate Integration Coverage: Understand which data sources contribute to the CMDB to ensure comprehensive and accurate data ingestion.
- Prioritize Remediation: Focus efforts on high-impact areas informed by CMDB quality scores and operational priorities.
- Track Progress Toward CSDM Alignment: Use ongoing metrics to align CMDB data quality with the Common Service Data Model (CSDM) standards.
Access and Requirements
The dashboard is accessible via the CMDB success advisor landing page after completing setup for Data Foundations. Access requires the sncmdbadmin role. Notifications alert users if Performance Analytics data collectors hit processing limits, ensuring awareness of any incomplete metric loads.
Key Outcomes for ServiceNow Customers
By leveraging the CMDB success advisor for Data Foundations dashboard, ServiceNow customers can systematically improve CMDB data quality, resulting in more reliable configuration data, better impact analysis, and enhanced operational decision-making. The dashboard’s actionable metrics and remediation guidance empower CMDB administrators to maintain an accurate and trustworthy CMDB aligned with best practices.
The CMDB success advisor for Data Foundations dashboard enables CMDB administrators to identify and address data quality issues specific to principal classes in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB).
Access the dashboard
To open the dashboard, select View insights for Data Foundations on the CMDB success advisor landing page. See Access CMDB success advisor.
Required roles
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| sn_cmdb_admin | Required to access the Data Foundations dashboard. |
Use cases
For examples of how different people in your organization would use this dashboard, see these use cases.
| User | Dashboard use |
|---|---|
| CMDB administrator |
|
Dashboard features
The dashboard provides clear, consolidated insights into principal CI class data quality and completeness. Use the dashboard to identify and resolve data quality issues within the CMDB through dedicated sections, filters, indicators, and visual reports. Gain valuable insights into CMDB performance related to Data Foundations. Targeted CMDB metrics focus remediation efforts. Regularly monitor these metrics and follow suggested remediation actions to systematically improve CMDB data quality over time.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| CIs by principal class | Displays the breakdown of operational CIs by principal CI class to highlight CI distribution in the CMDB. |
| CIs by data integration source | Displays the breakdown of operational CIs by data integration source to highlight their contribution to CMDB population. |
| CIs missing key attributes | Displays completeness metrics per principal CI class, identifying classes below the defined threshold. |
| CI data quality issues | Displays key metrics related to CIs that have not been updated or may have duplicate records, leading to outdated information and inconsistencies in the CMDB. |
Filters
Enables narrowing the data shown in graphs and metrics based on principal class, date range, or stale CI threshold.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Principal classes | List | Filters CIs based on the selected principal classes. |
| Date range | Date | Filters the dashboard data based on the selected date range. |
| Stale CI | List | Filters stale CIs based on the number of days since their last update. Available values: 7, 14, 30, 60, and 90 days. |
CIs missing key attributes
Key metrics for the completeness of CI attributes across principal classes, identifying gaps that affect data quality.
| Card | Description | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| CIs missing name | Total number of CI records from principal classes missing a name, measured daily, where the CI does not have a name specified. | DF CIs missing name |
| CIs missing managed by group | Total number of CI records from principal classes missing a managed by group, measured daily, where the CI does not have a managed by group assigned. | DF CIs missing managed by group |
| CIs missing location | Total number of CI records from principal classes missing a location, measured daily, where the CI does not have a location assigned. | DF CIs missing location |
CI data quality issues
Key metrics for CIs that have not been updated or may have duplicate records, leading to outdated information and inconsistencies in the CMDB.
| Card | Description | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| Stale CIs | Principal class CIs not updated within the expected maintenance window, causing data gaps and inaccuracies that affect incident and change impact analysis. Additionally filtered by the Stale CI filter. When you select a segment on the Stale CIs chart, the KPI Details page title reflects the Stale CI filter value selected at the time (for example, "CIs not updated in last 30 days"). |
DF CIs not updated in last 7 days DF CIs not updated in last 14 days DF CIs not updated in last 30 days DF CIs not updated in last 60 days DF CIs not updated in last 90 days Note: The CIs not updated card data is additionally filtered based on the Stale CI filter. See Filters. |
| Duplicate CIs | Operational CIs identified as duplicates within principal classes, causing ambiguous CI selection in processes and data redundancy. | DF duplicate CIs |